Numbers
by rosaandrews
Summary: She left, will she ever come back?


**Longest one shot yet. Happy reading!**

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><p>Number of missed Periods: Zero<p>

She doesn't know why she runs but she does. Right after graduation she packs her bags and is out of Los Angeles by the next night. Maybe she wanted to run or maybe she needed to run out of where everything was.

* * *

><p>Number of missed Periods: One<p>

The day her period doesn't come is scary but she is a good actress and is able to convince herself that her periods have always been irregular and the next one will come right on time. (That's not actually true, she has always had her period's right on the dot. Never early, never late. But she's a good liar.)

She's not the poorest person in New York but she definitely not the richest. She manages to pay her apartment bills with the money her Dad gave her when she graduated and she got a job at a coffee shop.

She doesn't know anyone in New York but that's okay because she likes being alone. She especially likes the extra quiet apartment for writing songs. She is almost considering sending the songs off before deciding that they are too personal.

* * *

><p>Number of missed Periods: Two<p>

She knows that, as much as she would like it, people don't pick actresses and singers by looking at them. She practices for every audition she goes to and hopes to get the part. She knows it is very unlikely but she wants it.

She had missed two periods in a row. Again she tells herself that they have always been irregular and there's nothing different with these. It will be fine when she gets her period next month. All with be fine and she won't actually be you-know-what.

* * *

><p>Number of missed Periods: Three<p>

The day after she misses her third period, she receives an e-mail from Cat. Cat goes on and on how she wants her to come back because everyone is going to hang out before they go off to college and it won't be the same without her. She deletes the e-mail.

She receives a call from none other than Tori Vega. She inwardly curses herself for never changing her phone number. She lets the call go to voice mail. She basically says the same thing Cat told her.

So, she's missed three periods but she is not you-know-what! She only gained weight because she has eating a lot of junk food. She decides to only eat healthy from now on because she is know you-know-what.

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><p>Number of missed Periods: Four<p>

When she misses her fourth period and she still continues to gain weight even with the new diet she goes to a doctors. It just doesn't add up! She never was sick and she hasn't had any weird cravings.

The doctors tells her that she is twenty weeks pregnant. She can find out the gender if she wants to but she votes not. She goes home and for the first time in weeks she cries. She doesn't want to go back. She left for a reason.

She starts talking to the baby, even singing to it. She starts thinking she might love the creature that is inhabiting her stomach. She screams at herself, she can't love this thing, it goes against her thing of hating children.

* * *

><p>Number of months to go: Three<p>

She starts getting ready for the creatures arrival. She buys clothes, unisex of course, bottles, and she gets some wall decals for the baby's walls.

She might start loving this thing and if that happens she'll be so guilt ridden she will have to go back to LA and tell the creature's father. That is something that if she can avoid is not happening under a lot of circumstances.

She still work at the coffee shop and they all told her how excited they were for the baby. Not one of them asked who the father was. Maybe that was because every worker expected to get pregnant and not know the father.

* * *

><p>Number of months to go: Two<p>

She is huge and she hates it. She was about to go back home but her doctor told her flying was not safe for the creature and since she doesn't want to harm the thing so she listens and stays in New York. She starts craving stuff now but it is just normal, like ice cream.

She's never one to be boring but her baby sure is. The baby moves and kicks every once in a while bit other than that it is pretty calm. She was worrying for the first time until the doctor assured her that the creature was just laid back.

She swore so loudly Saturn could hear her. She didn't want the baby to have its father's personality. She would much rather have the baby look identical to her and nothing like him. She doesn't want any reminder of the thing she is keeping a secret.

* * *

><p>Number of months to go: One<p>

She still somehow works at the coffee shop and people often tell her congratulations. She thinks it's rude but she supposes she is actually pregnant. The manager lets her sit behind the counter and take order instead of the serving she usually did.

On one side of the coffee shop there is a gigantic map of the world. People were supposed to put where they came from. There was a lot from New York but the most was from England. She loved walking over there and seeing all the different countries people came from, the countries she once imagined that she would travel.

Somehow she ends up being the one who has to stay after hours and clean up. It wouldn't have been so bad if she wasn't thirty-six weeks pregnant. It also would have been better if two guys didn't show up with guns and demand where the money was. She explained to them that she didn't know and she was sorry. Then there was a sharp pain up her back before her stomach starting cramping.

* * *

><p>Number of months to go: None<p>

For some reason one of the guys with guns dropped it and helped her. Any thoughts of burglary forgotten and focused on helping the young women. His wife and baby had died a month ago in labor and he wanted to help the young women.

He left his friend as he helped the young women into his car. She couldn't focus as she was too focused on the pain. He nervously rushed to the hospital. She was admitted immediately to the hospital and the man lied saying she was her husband.

He helped her through the labor when the doctors weren't there. She decided to do an all nature birth. Though when the pushing started she regretted it, a lot. Finally her baby was born.

The baby was a boy and a quite beautiful boy at that. He had black hair and a natural tan. She laughed at that, she had always been super pale and to see something she made tan was weird. She found out that the man's name was Nicholas.

She ended up naming the baby Parker Nicholas, Parker being her absolute favorite boy name and Nicholas being the man who helped her. He's also the one who helps her with the baby and encourages her to go back. He knows she wants to.

Right when they are about to board police come out of nowhere and arrest Nicholas. It turns out that, in addition to robbery, he has killed a man. Tears rushed down her face as he is taken away. Right before he leaves Nicholas tells her to go without him and that he is sorry.

* * *

><p>Number of months after: One<p>

She finally musters up the courage and goes back home with Parker. She doesn't tell anyone because she doesn't want to. She knows everyone stayed and went to college around there. She can't think of a reason their lives would be better with her.

She stays in an apartment with Baby Parker. She follows Nicholas's story and she learns he killed a twenty-seven year old man because he needed money. She has to cover Nicholas's mug shot because she doesn't want to remember him like that.

She works at a different coffee shop while Parker stays in daycare. He's only three months old and she just wants to be with him. This coffee shop is nicer than the one in New York and a lot of future stars come.

Including the ones she doesn't want to see. Turns out they never grew apart and they still go out and do stuff. She pushes Mindy to get their orders while she just makes their coffee and other drinks. Unfortunately for her, he knows her like the back of his hand and immediately recognizes her. He shouts her name and everyone in the small group turns their head towards her.

Cat is the first to respond and runs behind the counter before hugging her. She bounces up and down with energy like she had just won the lottery. Which she thinks is a terrible metaphor because she is not close to the lottery at all.

She gets pushed around by people and soon hugs all of them. Mindy makes her take her break so she can catch up with the people she seems so reluctant to greet. They find a nice table and she sits as far away as she can.

Just as she expected they bombard her with questions. She answers the ones she can but refuses to answer the one to do with Nicholas, apparently there was a mention of her in the article, and she had no idea about that.

Eventually she tells them that she needs to leave just because. She didn't bother mentioning that her son's preschool was closing and she needed to pick him up. She is about to get in the car when he, her he, comes and asks what she's hiding. Instead of telling him straight out she tells him to get in the car.

They sit in an awkward silence as the radio plays softly in the background (James Taylor.) She finally pulls up to The Rose. He seems shocked for a second before putting on his cool and casually walks in. She holds her card up for the door to scan and they walk in.

She leads him to the very back of the daycare where the newest babies reside. She knocks quietly on the door, something you do to make sure you don't disturb the babies, and then walks inside. He keeps trailing behind her.

She goes to where her baby is lying and finds his big brown eyes looking up. His face breaks into his baby grin at the sight of his mother. She picks him up and cuddles him to her chest. He still looks confused.

She turns the baby to him so he could see what the baby looked like. A moment of realization passes his face as her gently takes the baby out of her hands. He makes sure to support his head and butt.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know until I was twenty weeks and his name is Parker Nicholas," she says quietly.

He soaks in his sons features before putting him in the car seat. The two leave the daycare and go back to the coffee shop. He insisted because he knew that the group would still be there and wanted to tell them.

He walks in first with the baby carrier with her slightly behind him. She lingers more scared of what the people she thought were her friends would say. She didn't want any of them to be mad that she didn't tell them.

She gets the complete opposite reaction. Everyone fawns over the baby and comments how it looks just like him. (She doesn't like that comment, her baby is supposed to look like her.) It turns out he explained some fake reason about her not being able to come back while pregnant. (While that might be true, she didn't actually tell him that.)

She finally gets her baby back and promptly leaves the coffee shop. The group say they are coming over to her apartment tomorrow because they miss her. She just wants them to leave her alone with her baby.

She considers running again. She doesn't though. She can't keep doing that to her son. She can't teach him to run away from his problems. They come over to her apartment, she didn't have time to do that much cleaning so there's baby toys all around.

They end up playing poker at her table while Parker lays in his car seat next to her. She doesn't want anyone to even look at him. Parker is just hers and no one else's. That's that, nothing else. She ends up winning the M&M's.

They leave and she doesn't hear from them for a long time. She can finally relax with her baby and he can grow up to be something. He can be what his mother wasn't. That's what she has her heart set on.

Just when she thinks that they have left her alone he waltzes back trying to be the perfect father to his child. He showers the kid with presents and makes the baby happier when he's around. She's just there if needed. The baby has a clear favorite.

She finally let's all of her insecurities out when he is. She tells him how she thinks that her son likes him better than her and how she's just there. He spends an hour comforting her and reassuring her that Parker loves her.

Somehow that brings them closer until they officially start dating. They keep it a secret for a while, she doesn't want to see her so called friends any more than she has to and he respects that decision.

They have to tell them though as neither can keep it in anymore. They go out to a formal dinner, though they still bring Parker, and announce it then. They act like they just announced they were getting married but then again they were always the couple that proved love existed.

Parker grows older, they grow closer but neither of them can force each other to get married. Parker doesn't seem to mind so why should they?

* * *

><p>Number of years after: Two<p>

Finally he proposes to her. She says yes and they have a fantastic wedding, followed by a fantastic honeymoon. Maybe a way too fantastic honeymoon. She finds out she is pregnant, again. He's really happy whereas she is nervous, what if Parker thinks they don't love him anymore?

He tells her how great this is and how they can start from the beginning and they can have a new baby but of course they'll always love their first baby because no matter how hard parents try they always hold their oldest a special place in their heart.

Forty weeks later and she delivers twins, out of everything she has twins. One boy and one girl. She doesn't want to think of names. There's too many out there and none fit her children. Not one single name that she can think of.

He looks at the baby boy and thinks of the perfect name. Axel James. She agrees only because she likes it on her little boy but Parker is a much better name. She finally settles on the name Evangeline Rose.

She thinks all of her kids are perfect. Parker Nicholas, age three, Axel James, one week, and Evangeline Rose, age one week. She finally feels her life feeling complete. After years of missing something she has found and she couldn't be happier.


End file.
